SHIRLEY, SOLIHULL

Friday 22nd September:
In the first part of the summer, Stone Technical (from Darlington) repaired the spire. This involved firstly renovating the fibreglass surface of the spire and secondly, replacing the steel bolts that fixed the spire onto the metal framework of the turret. All this went as planned. Furthermore, they inserted a baffle inside the ventilation grills at the base of the fibreglass spire that were allowing wind blow water to enter. Hopefully, the spire and therefore the baptistery will now be a lot more waterproof.
Over the last month, there has been a lot of consultation and design work going on between and by the various contractors involved in the renewal works to the church roof. There are three glazed areas on the roof, the largest being over the sanctuary. There are also the five plastic panels in the turret of the spire. The replacement glazing for all of these are presently being manufactured.
This week, you may have seen a mobile “cherry picker” parked on the front of the church, this is for the repainting of the spire (The man for Dulux has been out to agree the colour!). The painter’s opinion of the spire is that it is in very good condition – good to hear after having spent £13,000 on it! The spire is looking very bright and prominent now.
Next week (commencing Monday 25th September) is something of a quiet week.
However, things will really get going Monday 2nd October. This is when the internal scaffolding of the church begins. It will take about four days to erect scaffolding over the sanctuary and below the whole width of the glazing. This will then enable the replacement of the glazing panels. At the same time, we are going to have the area above the slats and below the glazing re-painted – last done 51 years ago! The slats themselves will also be cleaned.
After the scaffolding has been erected in church, it will be clad in plastic sheeting to increase protection to the fabric of the church. The sanctuary floor itself will be covered in hardboard, also a protection from anything being dropped. The contractors have been instructed to take particular care of the statue of the Risen Christ.
After the internal scaffolding has been erected, the external scaffolding will commence. Completion of this will allow the works to the roof and parapets to begin.
Currently, the timescale for the works is planned as being 11 weeks up to Friday 2nd December. However, this includes a generous margin for contingencies. If all goes well, the works could finish two weeks earlier on the 18th November.